Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
We use:
- at for a PRECISE TIME
- in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
- on for DAYS and DATES
Look at these examples:
- I have a meeting at 9am.
- The shop closes at midnight.
- Jane went home at lunchtime.
- In England, it often snows in December.
- Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
- There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
- Do you work on Mondays?
- Her birthday is on 20 November.
- Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
- I went to London last June. (not in last June)
- He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
- I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
- We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
We also use: DURING, SINCE, FROM / TO, FOR, UNTIL
DURING:
We use during + noun to say when something happens:
during the film - during our holiday - during the night
I fell asleep during the film.
We met a lot of interesting people during our holiday.
